On the 21st of July 2026, Planda Portal, the planning application submission platform with built-in AI validation, and Arcus Global, a leading supplier of cloud-based back-office planning systems to UK local authorities, announced their live integration partnership. Planning Applications submitted via Planda Portal can now flow directly into councils Arcus back-office case management systems - structured, pre-validated*, and ready for casework when they arrive.

The connector was built in weeks, not months or years - on the Open Digital Planning (ODP) data schema, the open standard for digital planning in England, backed by MHCLG's digital planning programme.

Deployment is now underway with a phased rollout to Arcus authorities.

*Pre-validated refers to automated checks against submission requirements. It is not formal validation, which remains the responsibility of the receiving local planning authority.

The problem councils have been living with

For years, local planning authorities have had effectively no choice in how planning applications reach them. A single submission route has been the default - not because councils chose it, but because back-office suppliers have not implemented the open connections that would give councils and applicants alternatives.

The implied cost of the above is well documented:

• Around 50% of applications are returned invalid, consuming officer time before casework can even begin.

• Officers manually bridge the gap between submission platform and back-office - re-keying data, downloading documents, reconciling records. Multiplied across every application a council receives, this is one of the largest single sources of wasted officer time in the validation process and makes a back office system hard to use.

None of this is a technical necessity. It is the product of systems that do not talk to each other - and, until now, of suppliers not being asked to make them.

What this partnership proves

When an application is submitted through Planda Portal to an Arcus-powered council, it arrives inside the Arcus back-office already checked against national, and local validation requirements by AVA, Planda's AI validation engine. Applications submitted through Planda Portal already show a 22% lower invalid rate than the national standard*.

But the more important proof is this: the connector took weeks to build. Two willing suppliers, one open standard, no bespoke engineering programme, no multi-year roadmap.

Open standards only deliver value when suppliers implement them. Arcus has, and Planda Portal representatives have said;

“We’re actively engaged with the vast majority of other back office suppliers and will be sharing news of progress as and when more connectors become available. We understand their importance”

What councils can do today

Planda Portal is making three practical recommendations to every local planning authority in England and Wales:

1. If your back-office is Arcus:
the Planda Portal connector is available now. Contact the Planda or Arcus team to join the rollout. 

2. If your back-office supplier does not yet support the connector:
ask for it. Most council back-office contracts - including those procured through CCS frameworks - contain change-control mechanisms allowing councils to request functional variations such as support for open-standard connectors. The standard is published and the integration is proven deliverable in weeks. Planda will provide technical documentation to any supplier, at no cost, on request.

3. If you are procuring or renewing a back-office planning system:
if required, specify open-standard submission connectors - including the Planda Portal ODP connector - as a functional requirement. Interoperability with published open standards is a reasonable expectation of any modern planning system, and aligns with MHCLG's direction of travel on digital planning and open data.

About Planda Portal and Arcus Global

Planda Portal is a digital planning application submission platform that validates applications before they reach planning teams. Its built-in AI tool, AVA (Application Validation Assistant), automatically checks documents, drawings, application details and policy compliance against national and local requirements - so better quality applications reach councils from the start.

Planda also provides a free Council Dashboard: a centralised workspace for managing incoming applications, with AI-assisted validation, interactive mapping and payment reconciliation built in.

Arcus Global delivers cloud-based back-office planning management systems to local authorities across the UK, providing end-to-end casework management, workflow automation and document management. Arcus Planning covers the full lifecycle; applications, enforcement, appeals, listed buildings, tree preservation orders and planning obligations with automated workflows and built-in reporting.

In their own words

"This partnership shows what the planning system should look like: open standards, clean data, and choice for councils in how they receive applications. The connector took weeks to build. That fact matters - because it means interoperability is no longer a technical question. It's a choice suppliers make. Arcus made the right one, and we're excited to roll it out with the first council. We'd encourage every authority to ask their own supplier the same question."

Brandon Johnson,
CEO of Planda Portal

"Local authorities want systems that work together rather than in silos. By integrating Planda Portal with the Arcus back-office through the open ODP schema, we're giving our council customers a faster, cleaner submission pipeline and demonstrating what interoperability looks like in practice. We're pleased to be delivering this and look forward to rolling it out."

Peter Dewsbury,
CEO of Arcus Global

Getting started

Local authorities interested in activating the Planda Portal connector - whether Arcus customers today, or councils who would like to request the integration from another supplier - can contact the Planda team via the Council Dashboard, on the Planda Portal website, or at hello@plandaportal.co.uk.

Councils requesting the connector from a non-Arcus supplier can also ask Planda for a copy of the technical specification and a template supplier request letter.

*Disclaimer: Figures are indicative, may vary, and are not a guaranteed outcome.